Junior High Literature

Writing Section Optional

Junior High students tend to feel things deeply and engage new ideas with enthusiasm and abandon. What a great time to read literature! Lively and tasteful discussions of enduring classics for young people will bring the wisdom of the ages to bear on relevant themes such as loyalty and friendship, responsibility, honor, and coming of age. Students are encouraged to participate aloud and enter joyfully into the Great Conversation – for many of them, a lifetime of profound reading begins here and now!

CenterForLit instructors use the Socratic method to conduct online discussions of classic books. This method involves asking questions that force them to think carefully about their reading, and then to think carefully about their thinking. Using the author's theme as the goal of the discussion, instructors encourage students to understand his message by discussing the structural and stylistic components that make up his story. Next, students are drawn by further questioning to critically examine their own assumptions about the author's theme. As a result, students gain a deeper understanding of the book, and also of themselves as readers and thinkers.

NEW FEATURES! Online meeting software (included in tuition) provides screen sharing and live audio with chat. Students raise hands to participate aloud, chat with instructors, and see instructors via live video.

Conversation boards: Each month, students make regular contributions to a chat-style conversation about the last book discussed. Posts are monitored by course instructors.

Recordings: High quality audio recordings of each class (with discussion notes in PDF format) allow students to participate at their own pace if desired. Students receive an email invitation to join the student database, where they have access to recordings and notes from each discussion.

Grades and Credits (optional): Writing students receive regular report cards. 9th grade students earn one High School credit in composition. Upon request, discussion students receive regular report cards based on their participation in the conversation board.

Tuition: $399 annually for the discussion-only class; an additional $300 for the optional writing section.

Optional Writing Section:

Schedule: Pre-recorded 45-minute lessons are uploaded to the student database bi-weekly on Tuesdays at Noon Pacific time. Each lesson is accompanied by a formal written assignment, which is due the following Tuesday. Assignments are graded and returned to the student in time for the next class.

Assignments: 16 bi-weekly assignments proceed step-by-step through every aspect of writing from literature (thesis statement formation, source development, outlining, mechanics and style) and result in three full-length literary analysis essays. Students submit assignments via the student database and receive line-by-line comments and grades on each draft.

Recordings: Writing lessons are pre-recorded to allow for asynchronous participation; however, assignment due dates are not flexible.

Grading: Assignments are evaluated against a five-fold rubric that pinpoints areas for improvement (see sample rubric below). Periodic report cards summarize progress, and combine grades from the writing and discussion portions of the class.

Teacher access: Instructor and tutors are always available via email to answer specific questions. Emails are generally returned within 24 hours.

Discussion Schedule

All discussion classes meet once per month at 10:00 AM Pacific time (1:00 PM Eastern). Section A meets on Tuesdays, Section B on Wednesdays, and Section C on Thursdays according to the following schedule:

Writing Class Schedule:

The optional writing class is available to students enrolled in the Socratic discussion course. Class dates indicate when pre-recorded lessons are uploaded to the database, and when assignments are distributed.

Upon enrollment, you will download a registration packet with complete instructionsfor joining each online discussion and participating in the conversation board.If you would like more information, you can call our office any time at (509) 738-2837.

We appreciate the responsibility involved in choosing curriculum materials for your students, and we ask you to make this decision carefully. If your plans change and your student must withdraw from a class, Center For Lit can transfer your registration to a different class or to a future term; however, THERE ARE NO REFUNDS FOR ONLINE CLASS REGISTRATIONS.